So just to recap: in the past, as a culture, we've forgiven Hugh Grant for picking up a hooker, Robert Downey Jr. for abusing drugs and Kanye West for intentionally interrupting an awards show. But we're not willing, at least not yet, to forgive Aguilera for screwing up a couple of song lyrics.

Granted, it's a pretty important song, performed during an event that's as major as it gets. But the whole much-debated episode raises questions about how much the rest of us non-"Burlesque" stars actually know about those Francis Scott Key-penned lyrics. With that in mind, here's is a quiz about our national anthem, which includes a bonus Aguilera-related question. Take it and see how you do.

Even though I missed two (the year it was adopted as National Anthem and the show CA was on) I feel pretty good about my Star Spangled Banner knowledge.
I wouldn't want to sing it live at the Super Bowl unless I was part of a chorus. Her flub wasn't unforgivable, but her performance, even if she HAD remembered the lyrics was still not one of the better anthem performances I've heard. Maybe instead of "performing" artists should just "sing."

I had the pregame show turned on but I muted the audio as soon as she started her massacre of the anthem. The screeching was unbearable. I hate when performers think they have to "interpret" the Star Spangled Banner. How about just singing it? That would be a refreshing change.

So, I missed two as well. One was about the number of verses; the other on which show Christina Aguilera first appeared. What in the Fort McHenry does the latter have to do with the National Anthem? I figure I missed one.

I missed one and I'm not ready to sing the National Anthem? Personally I really like the 4th verse which we were taught in elementary school. That said, although Aguilera's antics and miscue were awful, she did better than Roseanne Barr who should be barred forever from singing anything. Between her and the Black Eyed Peas all the singing was just awful. Nevertheless, thank you Arlington, Texas for a great stadium and congratulations to the Packers.

I didn't sign up and/or volunteer to sing the anthem, so my knowledge (or lack of it) is irrelevant. Those who do take on that job (honor), however, should either learn it frontwards and backwards and/or have a printed copy of it right in their face when they start signing.

Isn't Aguilera a "professional" singer? Why would anyone forgive her for not at least caring enough about her profession to at least learn the lyrics of a song she was expected to sing, let alone the lyrics of her own National Anthem? I wonder what the millions of viewers from the other countries of the world thought about an American who doesn't know the lyrics of her own National Anthem.

Isn't Aguilera a "professional" singer? Why would anyone forgive her for not at least caring enough about her profession to at least learn the lyrics of a song she was expected to sing, let alone the lyrics of her own National Anthem? I wonder what the millions of viewers from the other countries of the world thought about an American who doesn't know the lyrics of her own National Anthem.

Of course her performance wasn't unforgivable. That is not to say however that she shouldn't be subject to an appropriate degree of criticism for not being prepared to sing the song.

Even worse than flubbing lyrics, is the WAY in which she sang the song. She seemed intent on making it a personal showcase of vocal gymnastics as opposed to singing the song properly, and without everything but the kitchen sink thrown in. She has a very good voice, but I don't know if she will ever learn that less is more sometimes. She could really have delivered an inspired version of the song if she had focused more on the song, and less on herself.

"But we're not willing, at least not yet, to forgive Aguilera for screwing up a couple of song lyrics."

This sentence says the most about you, the author. It's not just 'a couple of song lyrics'. It's our Nations anthem. The fact that you treat it, and it's abuse (yes, I consider both the misspoken lyrics and the ridiculous melody, if it can be called that, abuse) as a mear faux pas is saddening. How did we lose our love and Pride of our Country?

I believe that these so-called super stars should have to TRY OUT for the honor of singing the National Anthem. Because if you make your millions in the UNITED STATES the very country that gives you the freedom to sing about drinking, screwing, cheating, or anything eles that crosses your mind..... the least you should be able to do is our countries NATIONAL ANTHEM, CORRECTLY!!!!!!!!!!

I believe that these so-called super stars should have to TRY OUT for the honor of singing the National Anthem. Because if you make your millions in the UNITED STATES the very country that gives you the freedom to sing about drinking, screwing, cheating, or anything eles that crosses your mind..... the least you should be able to do is our countries NATIONAL ANTHEM, CORRECTLY!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with reg1971la. What do people mean by unforgivable? That's a very strong condemnation. Does that mean you would refuse to shake her hand if you ever met her on the street or that she should not be allowed to sing the anthem ever again. Even professionals make mistakes. Professional baseball players often strike-out, professional quarterbacks sometimes throw interceptions. Professional politicians sometimes lie. That last one is certainly a bigger deal than messing up the wording. I suspect the vast majority of people who said that it is unforgivable, will forget her mistake the next time she releases an album...or by next week... Whichever comes first.

A fairly ridiculous poll having very little to do with knowing the words to the anthem. I got one wrong, "The Star Search" answer. Just because she is a big star does not mean that she knows the anthem. Do we know how many times she has sung the anthem in public? I would hope that she should easily sing the anthem and not get "stage fright" since she has been performing in public for many years.

I wholeheartedly agree with praz40... the stars chosen for the honor of performing the National Anthem at a large public event should sing it as it is. I generally like Christina Aguilera's music, but had she not been trying to turn the National Anthem into a show tune, she might not have gotten "lost in the moment" and flubbed the words. But even worse than the missed words, her performance itself was horrible. It was about as "musical" as a malfunctioning air raid siren.

Geesh, people give it a rest. It is a horrible song to sing and very difficult. When it is sung by the public I move my lips because there is no way I have the vocal range to sing this song. My husband who has a 4 octave range and has sung it on occassion says it is one of the most difficult songs to sing. The range is to difficult for average singers, the phrases are hard because they start on similar words, and then singing outside/large arena adds to the stress. People have had problems with the song before and will continue to have difficulties. Give it a rest.

what i know about the star spangled banner, while info we should all learn, is irrelevant. i didnt sign up to sing it at the largest sporting event of the year. its not that she flubbed it up, its that she always looks like a hooker at a truck stop that annoys me. we get it- your dirty, master of your destiny. a real woman. now put some goddamn pants on, ive been forced to look at your junx for a decade, christ.
i think the real offending act there was the hair.

You guys are trippin! she fumbled a lyric, big deal she is human and makes mistakes. All you HATERs at one time have too. Her mistake just happened to be on the biggest stage in the world. Minus her fumble, she sung it well, her tone and control was spot on. her runs were few but when she did them they were solid. Christina has sung the national anthem many times at many different live events and has nailed it. do you guys talk about those times? no! people love to hate! No one is talking about how she is the first person to sing the national anthem on the super bowl live (with no ear piece mind you) in years. being many people stumble because its not only a hard song to sing ACAPELLA, but nerves can take over at such a live event! Whitney's was pre recorded! Give the girl a break! I feel bad for her!

@daburge: The difficulty of the melody has nothing to do with the fact that she messed up the lyrics. Besides, if it's really that hard to sing, maybe she should have just tried to SING it, rather than screech and squawk her way through it, singing 12 notes where she only needed one.

The performance itself was self-indulgent and borderline sleazy. Flubbing the lyrics was just the icing on the cake.

Its pretty cheesy to try to give CA a pass for her performance by giving the rest of us a quiz on our knowledge of the national anthem. One would think that she cared enough about her profession and reputation, not to mention her country, to learn the words. We already know she is an accomplished artist so there was nothing to prove. Just come out and sing the song; you don't have to reinvent it or set the bar for the next artist, though we always love it when someone does. Just sing the song and try not to screw it up.

I got 4 out of 5 right (not ready for prime time, I guess) and then changed my answer to the 5th question (which was purely a guess) to another pure guess, and got 5 out of 5. I don't think I need to know how Christina A. got famous in order to sing on television. And I'd practice before going on, I promise.

trippin! she fumbled a lyric, big deal she is human and makes mistakes. All you HATERs at one time have too. Her mistake just happened to be on the biggest stage in the world. Minus her fumble, she sung it well, her tone and control was spot on. She has sung the national anthem many times and has nailed it, yet no one brings that up! she is the first artist to sing it live at the super bowl in years(with no ear piece mind you). Whitney's was pre recorded! she tried, she messed up, but like a professional she kept going! Haters gonna hate! but i bet the majority of you couldnt even do half of what she did! She is a true legend! Brush it off Christina and Keep doin what you do and you'll be fine!

trippin! she fumbled a lyric, big deal she is human and makes mistakes. All you HATERs at one time have too. Her mistake just happened to be on the biggest stage in the world. Minus her fumble, she sung it well, her tone and control was spot on. She has sung the national anthem many times and has nailed it, yet no one brings that up! she is the first artist to sing it live at the super bowl in years(with no ear piece mind you). Whitney's was pre recorded! she tried, she messed up, but like a professional she kept going! Haters gonna hate! but i bet the majority of you couldnt even do half of what she did! She is a true legend! Brush it off Christina and Keep doin what you do and you'll be fine!

Gee I thought being given the honor of singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl game being watched by millions and sent overseas to our military around the world would be enough of an incentive to actually learn the words. We only need the FIRST stanza but apparently that was too much of an effort as well as practicing.
My favorite all time National Anthem programs at a Super Bowl was the combined choir from all the military branches (You Tube it, it will give you goosebumps) and Whitney Houston's very bold and lovely rendition. She did us proud!

I did this test, I missed one. I had to laugh abit, this is what I was told when I did this quiz and missed one (80%):
“You're not quite ready for a Super Bowl appearance. You got 4 questions right out of 5 (80%).”

I missed the Aguilera question. That’s hilarious. Not overly happy she screwed this up, but, things happen. Hopefully, lesson learned for her, and, for me, no SB appearance I guess because I don’t have the correct info on Aguilera. That’s just funny…..

So, I missed two as well. One was about the number of verses; the other on which show Christina Aguilera first appeared. What in the Fort McHenry does the latter have to do with the National Anthem? I figure I missed one.
--------------------------
Are you a blonde or just slept through the US History course dealing with the War of 1812?

I suggest that you look up Francis Scott Key, in a web search. Better yet, go here-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key

The flubbing of the lyrics was a mistake but something that's easily forgiven.

The "interpretive" rendition from her, however, was not a mistake, it was this so-called diva's desire to show everyone how wonderful a singer she is. Christina, we get it; we know you have an amazing voice, full of range and tonal perfection. However, we want our National Anthem sung the way it's supposed to be sung, without your near-constant embellishments, tempo changes, and inappropriate near-screaming. The tempo of the song was so random I could hardly make out the melody.

So, Christina: go to YouTube and watch Whitney Houston's amazing anthem performance of 1991. Like you, she has an amazing voice. Unlike you, she had the class and self-control to sing it correctly and beautifully, without the need to prove she could do so. We know you can sing. Act like you know it too.

Why can't we have someone with a beautiful voice sing our National Anthem? Do they (females, mostly) think it makes it more impressive to huff and puff and screech through it all? Is this supposed to make it more impressive to me? Sing it as it was written - I love my country just as much as this lassie with all her panting and breathiness. Actually, her forgetting the lyrics is not a big problem - IT'S HER RIDUCULOUS RENDITION!

The flubbing of the lyrics was a mistake but something that's easily forgiven. Lame for a professional, but hey, we all make mistakes. She'll get enough grief for it and I'm not going to pile on.

The "interpretive" rendition from her, however, was not a mistake, it was this so-called diva's desire to show everyone how wonderful a singer she is. Christina, we get it; we know you have an amazing voice, full of range and tonal perfection. However, we want our National Anthem sung the way it's supposed to be sung, without your self-indulgent, near-constant embellishments, tempo changes, and inappropriate near-screaming. The tempo of the song was so random I could hardly make out the melody.

So, Christina: go to YouTube and watch Whitney Houston's amazing anthem performance of 1991. Like you, she has an amazing voice. Unlike you, she had the class and self-control to sing it correctly and beautifully, without the need to prove she could do so. We know you can sing. Act like you know it too.

What is truly unforgivable is not Aguilera's flub, but the nauseating way that the NFL, by way of the Super Bowl and the seemingly endless pre-game pap, attempts to wrap itself in the flag, all the while clutching Mom and her apple pie.

As aggressive as the game is, and in spite of all the warlike metaphors that are associated with the sport, it is in fact nothing like war. There is also nothing inherently patriotic about watching professional athletes perform in an over-orchestrated event, complete with super heated hype and expensive commercial spots that seem to get as much or more attention than the game.

The only aspect of the NFL that is patriotic is the memory of Pat Tillman.

The only question I got wrong was the one about Flubtina, so I'm going to assume I am, in fact, more ready for a Super Bowl appearance than she was. It's certainly forgivable, understandable, even, as there's a lot of pressure to perform...but bad.

I say next year, they just have a military band play it. Or a high school marching band, better yet.

As opposed to most other musical performance, the Anthem should be the center of attention, the focus of all who hear it, stand at attention, with our hand over our hearts or in a position of military salute.

Having it delivered by a person who is in effect, a lounge singer, is a desecration! The messenger isn't important at all...the message is.

@Chuckex82;when she messed up on the song, you may not know it and all the other people that are so with her on making the mistake of messing up the lyrics to one of the most, if not the most, important songs to this country. this woman had the lyrics right in front of her!!! how could you mess that up?!? no she did not sing it the way it needed to be sung, she focused too much on herself. if she would have maybe..REHEARSED..it wouldn't have come to this. i adore aguilera and she has wonderful music, but this is not the way the song was meant to be sang, if so..they would have started singing it that way when it was written. not hating. and not with her. but i don't think she was "caught in the moment" of the song, otherwise i believe she would have made the consideration of making the song lyrics correct.

The reason the national anthem is sung before a sporting event is to cause the spectators to think about and honor our nation. If not, it shouldn't be sung at all. As such, it should be performed correctly - with neither ad-libbed words nor "creative" notes - and in a manner that allows all present to join in the singing if they wish.

As for the song itself, the critiques of its text and its melody have merit. There are other patriotic songs which, IMHO, would be preferable. But unless and until Congress is persuaded to make a change, we need to honor and respect the anthem we have.

...yes she messed up.
...no, no one will forget it.
...it will be controversial.
...there comes a time where you have to get over stuff, even though it was one of the most important songs to this country.

Okay, okay. Yes, she should have made a few test runs before she stood in front of millions of people to sing the most important song to the country, but unforgivable? No. Maybe this wasn't CA at her finest, but the girl can sing. It wasn't disrespectful, it was a mistake. I don't think she meant any harm. Now when Roseanne sang or whatever she did to the national anthem, clearly disrespectful. She made a total joke of it! Come on, surely we can appreciate the difference.

It really is irrelevant as to whether we pass or fail the Post's quiz. In my opinion, any American that does not know the words to the National Anthem, should be embarrassed.

If it was up to me, the National Anthem would be sung by one of our military service choirs, rotated each year...and the half time shows would be military or college marching band performances. Spend the money on decent fireworks displays. Anything but the awful half time shows we get now. They are becoming more bizzare every year. They are merely time fillers anyway.

It really is irrelevant as to whether we pass or fail the Post's quiz. In my opinion, any American that does not know the words to the National Anthem, should be embarrassed.

If it was up to me, the National Anthem would be sung by one of our military service choirs, rotated each year...and the half time shows would be military or college marching band performances. Spend the money on decent fireworks displays. Anything but the awful half time shows we get now. They are becoming more bizzare every year. They are merely time fillers anyway.

Okay, okay. Yes, she should have made a few test runs before she stood in front of millions of people to sing the most important song to the country, but unforgivable? No. Maybe this wasn't CA at her finest, but the girl can sing. It wasn't disrespectful, it was a mistake. I don't think she meant any harm. Now when Roseanne sang or whatever she did to the national anthem, clearly disrespectful. She made a total joke of it! Come on, surely we can appreciate the difference.

The "Anthem" is nearly unsingable and was based on an overwrought 18th century poem put later to a traditional English drinking song's tune. Sacred, it ain't. "America the Beautiful" is/would have been a better choice. It is easier to sing, play, remember and understand. (BTW: a rampart is a military defensive position--or at least a part of one) What is UNFORGIVABLE is the pose and facial expression in the accompanying picture. One hand in the air, beady eyes squinted shut, melodramatic look on the face. It looks like an attempt to portray a blend of fervent prayer, sweaty climax, and being shot by a sniper. Come on! Whoever gets up to sing the anthem, first you need to have a good voice then stand up there RESPECTFULLY and just sing the song and get on with the game.

Hey ... this is no contest, you self-centered "writer-type" ! !
We are talking about our NATIONAL ANTHEM. It is NOT subject to your whim of a "question and answer" session.
I have sung this ANTHEM in my US Marine Corps uniform and now in my civilian clothes .... I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO MAKE A GAME
OUT OF THE TRAVESTY THE COUNTRY HAD TO ENDURE FROM THE "Aguilera" LACK OF RESPECT ! ! !
I would welcome a personal response and apology from you ! !

Did they not have a rehearsal or did she just have a brain freeze. Football stadiums seem to bring out the worst in entertainers. Look at the Black Eyed Peas and many before them. Now you know why many insist on lip syncing...

It clearly doesn't matter whether we know The Star Bangled Banner or not. She's a performer, presumably a professional, who was paid big bucks to sing the song and sing it correctly. It's her job to be prepared, which means knowing the lyrics and rehearsing.

Your article begs a position of "are you better than a high priced singer?" Remind yourself she was paid handsomely for her performance. She is a professional. If one of the players in the game ran the wrong way, threw the ball to the other team purposely, or some other flub you would have been up on your high horse.

I didnt hear it; didnt watch the super bowl and am so glad I missed it. I agree with gingakaye777 that they should 'try out' for this honor. Perhaps the committee should state that devations from the intent of our forefathers how this song to presented will not be acceptable. The singer should be well aware of the honor of all those who gave their lives so that we could be free. This has never happened before, and it was not previously required to state it. She distrsepcted our country and the world is watching. She has the capabilities of going great ranges with her God given voice, and she could have set a standard for other artists who will come after her. It will forever be a lost opportunity to do great. She will forever be an example of how not to do it. The quiz should have been weighted; who she previosly performed with is irrelevant in relation to what was actually in the star spangled banner.

It is inexcusable that CA didn't follow the tune of the once popular drinking song "To Anacreon in Heaven" and she didn't follow the verses of "Defence of Fort McHenry". In the future, to properly complement the fly-over, only an active duty military chorus (e.g. The Singing Sergeants, The Army Chorus, The Marine Band Chorus, or the Sea Chanters) should be chosen for the honor.

Regardless of the importance of the song, regardless of the infamy earned by other poor performances - just how unprofessional can you get trying to sing something you either haven't learned or haven't practiced? If she was paid for her performance she should consider donating the entire sum to a charity (of someone else's choice.)

This "singer" is as phony as an entertainer as her breasts. Hey Christina, how come both underarms have identical scars? Too bad this one and that women named after a breed of dog were ever hired by Disney Co.

I didn't hear the flub because I muted the sound. I can't stand it when people massacre the Anthem this way. People swoon about Whitney Houston's version, and she sang the song in the wrong meter. It's an anthem, not a ballad. Put a band on the field and play it right.

You would never hear anyone interpret the melody of God Save the Queen, O Canada, or La Marseillaise, so why do pop stars always feel the need to butcher the Star Spangled Banner when they sing it? Christina Aguilera may have a soulful voice, but parts of what she sang were absolutely unrecognizable as the song.

Even if it's sung to the tune of a drinking song, when sung (or performed) properly it should sound like a walking march, not a dirge or worse, a cheesy love song.

As for slips of the tongue, they happen all the time for pop stars. I would be more disappointed if it were an opera or classical vocalist who made such a blunder. At they they would have interpreted the melody with dignity, if at all.